Just Friends?
by SomedayIWillFly
Summary: A beginning of a story for a contest...NaruHina fluff, and the way I see development.
1. The Beginning

A/N: I will continue this story if I get any Reviews/ Favs.

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Just Friends...?

Hinata walked slowly through the grass filled path, admiring what was around her. It was a park for tourists and others to admire, and a haven to escape the harsh life of a ninja, but it only did this in a certain season. "_Spring…Really is beautiful…_" She thought to herself. She found a nice, soft patch of grass and laid herself down on it. With the warm sunlight on her skin, and the sense of peace she soon drifted off to sleep. She didn't notice when a certain ninja in an orange clad jumpsuit sat beside her.

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Naruto noticed Hinata was lying there, but she was the only one he knew out of the crowd of others, so he ran over to her. At first he didn't notice she was asleep and was about to scream out a greeting, but fortunately he observed her sleeping figure before he did that. She had her arms in front of her, as if protecting herself, and her mouth slightly open. Her legs were also brought up close to herself, and she seemed to be at peace. Naruto, for a reason he did not know, couldn't stop staring at her sleeping state. He waited there, waiting for her to wake up.

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She opened her eyelids slowly only to find two cerulean orbs staring back at her. She quickly shot up causing her and the owner of these 'orbs' to knock heads.

"Ack! Etete…Hey, Hinata…"

Hinata held her head in pain but quickly saw Naruto in the same pose. "Ah! Naruto-kun, are you all right?? I'm really sorry!"

A grin spread across Naruto's face and he held his hand up in protest, "Heh, I'm all right Hinata. So, you still worrying about me? Still the same Hinata I know!" He laughed at this but saw Hinata a little discomforted. _"Oh wait…that's right! She wanted to change…Gah Baka!" _He held up his hands apologetically and stammered out, "N-Not that that's a bad thing! I really like this Hinata, 'tte bayo!" He grinned with his eyes closed as if trying to reassure this claim. He opened his eyes to a **very** red Hinata. "Hey…Hinata? Are you okay?"

Hinata stared at him for awhile, thoughts rushing through her mind, _"He…likes me like this? No, he said…__**r-really**__ likes me like this…" _ Soon she was brought back to earth, but her tone…unfortunately…was still red. She stopped staring at him and said, "Thank you Naruto-kun….You know….You tease me about worrying about you a lot…but…In a way…Y-you worry about me too."

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, "Well, that's because you're my friend Hinata! I always protect my friends!"  
She nodded, smiling.

After some silence Hinata brought up enough courage to ask, "Naruto-kun…Why did you decide to come here?"

Naruto looked at her for a second and replied, "The same reason as you! Isn't it awesome??" With this he stood up and spread his arms wide. Hinata stared at Naruto with a smile on her face.

"It really is….but, that wasn't exactly what I was asking…I meant, why did you come sit by me?"

Naruto looked a little embarrassed at his misinterpretation, "Oh, well, why wouldn't I? You're my only friend here…And, I wouldn't miss a chance to talk to you again. I haven't talked to you since the Chuunin Exams."

Hinata blushed at this comment, "I-I missed…talking to you too, N-Naruto-kun…."

Naruto was slightly surprised at this and scratched the back of his head, "Hey, Hinata, let's talk more from now on…I don't know why, but I feel really comfortable when I talk to you. You were the first one that I told that I acted tough…But, I don't think that anymore…Ever since that day, I've been thinking of myself as a proud failure. You're one too Hinata, you just need a little push sometimes." He smiled softly as her face went deeper shades of red. He got up and said, "Hinata, meet me at Ichiraku at noon…I wanna talk but, I'm getting hungry…" Hinata smiled and nodded. Just as he was about to turn away and run he said, "You know Hinata….You're really cute when you sleep." This left Hinata very red, and confused. "_He thinks…I-I'm __**cute?!"**_

Naruto, while running away, was also confused. "_Why did I say that?? I mean…It just came out…She really was cute though, the hair perfectly framing her face…_" Naruto stopped this thought and hit himself on the head. "_Why is my heart pounding right now? I mean…I've never called a girl cute before…So, maybe It's just because of that…But, just thinking about Hinata…I…might be starting to understand her…In ways, she is a lot like me…Why haven't I noticed it before? Maybe talking to her will do me some good, because I think she understands me too._

At Ichiraku, after they had met up with eachother and were eating, Hinata managed to ask a question, "Ano…N-Naruto-kun…Why do you…want to talk to..me? I mean…I'm not that special…"

Naruto coughed up some beef ramen and shouted, "That's not true Hinata! You are special! Everyone is! I mean…Why wouldn't I want to talk to you?" He sat there, not touching his ramen, obviously waiting for an answer.

Hinata blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst. "Because…I'm not…Sakur-"

This was a far as Hinata got because Naruto said, "Just because you aren't Sakura-chan doesn't mean I don't like you. Sakura-chan is fun to talk to, but she hits me a lot…While, Hinata-chan, you listen. You wait patiently for me to finish whatever I'm yelling about. Except once…And, I want to say thanks for that one time…Because if you didn't, I don't think I would've beaten Neji." Naruto then smiled at a red Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, I l-love to listen to you talk…Because most of the time…It inspires me to do better. And, I'm glad I could've done the same for you…Naruto-kun."

Naruto blushed a little at this too, and Hinata and Naruto thought the same thing, "_We aren't so different…Someone looking in might think we are…but we aren't...So, then why am I barely realizing it?_"

After some time Naruto broke the silence, "Hey…Hinata…Do you think you…you understand me?" Hinata hesitated and said, "I-I think I do Naruto-kun…but, I don't know." Off the bat Naruto asked, "Tell me what you think, I want to be the one to listen."

Hinata had never seen this side of Naruto before and was taken aback, "I think…you, Naruto-kun, are trying to be accepted. And, by being Hokage…you will get that acceptance. But, Naruto-kun, so many people acknowledge you…including me."

Naruto smiled, "Hinata, you do. You really do. And, I'm glad you acknowledge me. Hinata, you want acceptance too right?"  
Surprised he noticed Hinata nodded slowly. "So, I want to tell you that, ever since you put your all into your fight against Neji, I've acknowledged you too! You were really incredible Hinata!"

Hinata blushed and tears began to form in her eyes. Naruto was surprised and asked cautiously, "Hinata, are you…alright?"

Hinata nodded and smiled, "Yes, it's just because…I used to feel like there was a hole in my life, from not being acknowledged. And now that you've said that…I'm really happy Naruto-kun! Thank you so much!" She unconsciously launched herself into a hug across her seat onto him. He sat there surprised and he hugged her back, friendlily.

"It's okay Hinata. I'll fill that acceptance hole for you right now, like you've done for me. Just don't cry anymore…it's making me sad. Okay?"

Hinata, who had found out that they were in an embrace, now blushed into a strawberry red shade and said, "O-Okay, Naruto-kun…" They let go after awhile and Hinata at the moment was thinking, "_Will this lead us somewhere…?_" But, she was unaware that…Naruto was thinking the same thing.


	2. Confusion of the Two

A/N: Well, I got some reviews on this so I'm continuing it. Hope you all like this chapter! I'll continue the next chapter later

Ayame is the girl who works in Ichiraku's in the anime and manga.

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Hinata sat there, awkwardly, next to Naruto in Ichiraku's. _What now…_She stole a glance at Naruto and he was scratching his head, nervously. _He looks so…defenseless now. Not like the Naruto I know…_

Naruto was the first to break the silence, "Well, this was great Hinata…But, I have training after this…So, I guess I'll see you later?" Naruto couldn't look Hinata in the eyes while he said this, for some reason…Looking into her eyes seemed so unheard of right now.

Hinata was so abruptly brought out of her thoughts she almost jumped out of her seat. "..Um, sure Naruto-kun. That'd be great. I have training after this anyways…"

Suddenly, this sparked Naruto's interest, "Really? What kind of training do you do?"

"A-Ano, just working on my Juuken practice, is all." She then looked over to Naruto to see a huge grin on his face.

"Hinata, I think I've found out the perfect jutsu for us both! I've just gotta ask Tsunade-Obaa-chan to see if it's possible with our chakra levels." With this he got up excitedly, "You go ahead and train! I'm off to ask her, and plus, don't worry about me getting to my training late. Kakashi-sensei's always late anyways! I'll tell you as soon as I can!" And he ran off, looking very excited…even for Naruto.

Hinata sat there, confused, at what had just happened. When suddenly a voice came from behind her, "Well…You two sure get along."

Hinata jumped and spun around to see Ayame with a playful grin on her face. "W-What do you mean…?"

Ayame laughed, " Are you meaning to tell me, that you don't have a crush on ol' sugar rush over there?"

Hinata blushed, "N-No…Naruto-kun and I are just friends…just friends…"

Ayame stared sadly at the girl, "…Hm, well…Just friends or not…You have a crush on him, no?" Hinata blushed deeper and Ayame took this as the answer. "I won't ask you any longer…Just keep in there." With this she went in the back of Ichiraku to continue her work.

Hinata sighed, _Just friends…_She then got up and hurried over to her training session.

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Naruto banged on Tsunade's office door excitedly, "Open up Tsunade-obaa-chan!! I've got to ask you something really important!!"

Tsunade was asleep on a pile of 'work' and was suddenly awakened by the voice of Konoha's number one knuckleheaded ninja. She slammed on her desk and yelled, "It BETTER be important!! Because your little life depends on it, brat!!"

With this Naruto opened the door and ran through, "Tsunade-obaa-chan! I need to ask you a question dealing with chakra!!"

Tsunade clenched her fists."I thought I told you not to call me that…Anyways, what's your question with chakra?"

Naruto began, "Well, I was thinking…."

((Oooo cliffhanger.))

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Hinata ran towards Kiba with another palm thrust, and just before she was about to hit him he swerved out of the way and caught her on the cheek with a slash.

When they landed on the ground Hinata quickly applied pressure on the scratch. "Oi, Hinata…You're really unfocused today…"

Nearby Kurenai nodded, "Kiba is right Hinata. Did anything happen today?"

Hinata shook her head, "No…I'm fine. Kiba-kun let's continue."

Kurenai shook her head, "No, that's fine for today…Plus, Hinata it seems you have a visitor."

Hinata looked at Kurenai confused. _A visitor…?_ So she looked around and saw the familiar yellow spiky hair, and the gigantic grin in the distance. Hinata blushed at Kurenai's comment that Naruto was her visitor.

Naruto ran up to the group yelling, "Hinata! Hinata! Guess what??"

Hinata heard some snickering from Kiba in the background and frowned in irritation. "What is it Naruto-kun?"

"Tsunade-obaa-chan said the jutsu I was thinking about would work!"

Hinata smiled, "That's great Naruto-kun!"

Not sure she found the importance of this he frowned, "Not only is it great for me, but its great for you!!" He looked up at the sky, "Since it's getting late already…I'll tell you tomorrow!!"

Hinata blushed at this, "W-What do you mean…tomorrow?"

Naruto grinned, "Let me ask Kurenai-sensei something and I'll have it all worked out." With this he ran off to Kurenai.

Hinata waited there anxiously. _What does he mean…?_

After awhile Naruto came back even more excited, "It's all worked out Hinata!! You and I start private training together tomorrow to work on this jutsu! I already got permission from Kakashi-sensei so…"

Naruto's words began to fade away to Hinata as she began to go into deeper shades of red. She could've fainted right there but fought against it. _P-Private training…with Naruto-kun…?_

After Naruto stopped talking he waved his hand in front of Hinata, "Um…Hinata?"

Hinata was brought back to reality and managed to stutter, "That is amazing Naruto-kun!! I-I really…**can't**…wait."

Naruto blushed slightly at this response, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow I guess…"

Hinata, still at the deep tone she was at, nodded and smiled.

Naruto felt himself staring at her smile and quickly shook his head, "Um, Bye then!" And he ran off, more confused than he had ever felt before.

Hinata stood there waving, and whispered "Goodbye, Naruto-kun…Be safe." And she gathered her things and walked away. She caught up with Kiba after awhile and asked, "…What was up with the laughing…?"

Kiba snickered even more, "I just found it funny that he ran past **all **of us, and ran straight to **you**."

Hinata blushed and looked to the ground.

Kiba laughed, "Man, you two are meant for eachother." And he ran off.

Hinata felt her heart pound. _No…we aren't…We can't be…Things never end like that…Do they?...No, don't get your hopes up…Just keep quiet for now._ She sighed and hurried home and lay in her bed, waiting for the day to come.


	3. The Introduction of the Palooza!

A/N: Sorry for such a long time without updates! I'm horrible aren't I? D: Anyways...Please review and such!

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Needless to say, Hinata did not get a very good amount of sleep that night. When she sluggishly got out of her bed the next morning, reality set in. She wouldn't be doing the usual things she did everyday. She would be training with the one guy who she had admiration for (And, probably had much more feelings for him than that). Now, as much as any other girl would lavish in the excitement of having hours to their crush…Hinata, on the other hand, was extremely stressed out over the ordeal. Every single fault in her physical appearance suddenly became very noticeable to her, and she had no exact idea why. After much fussing, she noticed that she didn't know **where **exactly she was supposed to meet Naruto.

_Come on…Where did he say? He must've said it somewhere…_

She then remembered of the fading of Naruto's words after she found out that she was going to be training with him. She stared off into a distance happily at the memory of his words, and then snapped out of it. After much struggle, she remembered that he had said to meet her at the training ground where they had met before Naruto and Neji's fight. So, after getting herself ready she set off for the training ground.

Once Hinata got to the training ground, much to her surprise, Naruto was already there.

"Oi, Hinata! I'm over here!!" He grinned and waved towards her.

Hinata felt her heart pound at the sound of his voice and nervously smiled back. When she reached where Naruto was she awkwardly stood in front of him, fidgeting with her fingers as usual.

Naruto grinned, "Well, I'll tell you all about this awesome jutsu after we warm up! Okay?"

Hinata nodded with a smile and began to stretch. After the usual stretching she activated her Byakugan and began some target practice. She started by hitting a tree causing some leaves to fall and then she proceeded to close her eyes. She concentrated and opened them suddenly and her hands began to dart everywhere moving at a great speed. And all this time, Naruto was watching her.

Hinata stopped abruptly and deactivated her Byakugan. After that, a split second passed and all the leaves that were falling split in half at once.

Naruto's jaw immediately dropped, "…..That was…AWESOME!! Wow, Hinata! I knew you were good but not _that_ good!"

Hinata's eyes widened, "N-No…That's not true…Neji-nii-san is still a lot better than m-"

She was cut off by Naruto shaking her shoulders, "What do you mean Neji is a lot better than you?? I bet Neji would give his hair for that move!"

Hinata was at first shaken up by Naruto's amazement at her comment of Neji being better than her but after Naruto's last comment she began to crack up.

She tried her best to make out a couple of words through her laughing, "N-No….You know that…Neji-n-nii-san…Wouldn't give his…hair up…for anything!"

Naruto burst out laughing at Hinata's comment, "Ha! True!"

After awhile the laughter died down and the atmosphere became a lot more comfortable, "You know…You should let yourself smile like that more often, Hinata. You look better with a smile on your face." Naruto smiled softly with his eyes closed, "Much better than crying."

Hinata blushed and said, "Well…I-I did make a promise to you didn't I?"

Naruto nodded excitedly, "Yup! And I also said I would tell you about this awesome justu! Alright, this justu is going to have to mold both our chakras into one giant…um…Palooza!"

Hinata giggled at Naruto's use of palooza for lack of a better word.

Naruto frowned at Hinata, "You'll see how awesome this palooza is, and just you wait!"

Hinata nodded laughing, "Yes, I'm sure I will."

Naruto nodded, "You better believe it. Anyways, you've seen my justu before that Ero-sennin taught me right? The Rasengan?"

Hinata thought for a second, "Hmm…I remember it faintly…But, I only saw it from a distance (See Bikouchuu Arc)."

Naruto grinned, "Well then, I guess I'll just have to give a demonstration! Kage Bunshin no Justu!" Another Naruto appeared and began to hit the air around the 'real' Naruto's outstretched hand. Soon, a ball of energy began to form and Naruto displayed it proudly. "**That** is a Rasengan!"

Hinata looked at it curiously, "Wow…Naruto-kun…That's really amazing!"

Naruto grinned, "Isn't it? Atleast that old pervert is good for something!" He then looked over to a nearby tree and charged for it, "And **here** are the after effects! **Rasengan!!" **The tree soon began to be twisted into knots in the spot the Rasengan hit and after awhile of Naruto driving the ball of energy into the tree it exploded into many different shards.

Hinata's eyes widened in amazement, "Wow!! That's amazing Naruto-kun! The chakra inside of the Rasengan is moving so rapidly in a chaotic fashion that it can literally rip the opposing force into shreds!"

Naruto's eyes widened in her analysis, "Hey…How'd you know tha-" He then noticed the bulging veins disappearing from her eyes, "Ah. Nevermind."

Hinata laughed, "Yes, I cheated."

Naruto grinned, "We're ninjas! I mean, how else are you supposed to look underneath the underneath?"

After giggling, Hinata asked, "Um, Naruto-kun…What does the Rasengan have to do with me?"

Naruto raised his arms, "Just about everything! Hinata, _you_ are going to take the place of the other Naruto!"

Hinata looked confused, "How am I supposed to do that?"

Naruto thought for a second, "Let's see…Alright. Hinata, I remember hearing somewhere that you had really awesome chakra control and that you can pinpoint your chakra into little shots of energy right?" After Hinata's confirmation, Naruto continued, "Well, the way I see it, and after getting confirmation from Tsunade-obaa-chan that it's possible…You can shoot some of your chakra into making my Rasengan even more powerful than it already is!"

Hinata thought for a second, "You mean like shooting chakra like your Bunshin was doing?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but it'll go a lot faster since my chakra control sucks and yours is awesome! And then, the Rasengan will be super charged with not only my chakra, but yours too!"

Hinata said doubtfully, "But, Naruto-kun….Doesn't that mean I'll shoot your hand with my chakra?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nope, because I'm already exerting and twisting my own chakra in a hurricane-like motion so you'll just enforce my chakra to move and become bigger and bigger!"

Hinata smiled, "But, you know Naruto-kun…This will take a lot of chakra control from you…"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah…Tsunade-obaa-chan warned me about that too…Also, Hinata…It's going to take a lot of chakra from you to get it sped up enough."

Hinata looked at Naruto, "That won't make me back down from it Naruto-kun…This is an amazing idea for a justu, and once we get it down…You'll be unstoppable!"

Naruto grinned, "Correction, Hinata: **We'll** be unstoppable!"

Hinata began to blush and laughed slightly.

Naruto smiled and outstretched his hand into the same position he put it in when he was demonstrating the Rasengan, "Alright, let's try this palooza out…"

-----------------------------------------------------------FlashBack--------------------------------------------------------------------

After Naruto had asked Tsunade about his idea for a new justu she confirmed that the possibility of it working was pretty high.

With this news Naruto began to jump up and down yelling, "I can't wait to tell Hinata!"

Tsunade stopped him abruptly, "Hold on Naruto, this justu is going to take its toll on both you and Hinata."

Naruto looked at Tsunade curiously, "Like what?"

Tsunade sighed, "Well for Hinata, she is going to exert a great amount of chakra to steady your chakra control. And this is going to take a lot of chakra control from you to steady yourself."

Tsunade waited for a response and all she got was a deer-in-headlights expression from Naruto. "What I mean is Naruto, you can't exert yourself too much to where you loose your normal chakra supply because then you will soon start to draw out the Kyuubi's chakra. Hinata's not stupid and she also has the Byakugan on her side. She** will** find out where your chakra is coming from sooner or later."

Naruto had a pained expression on his face, "Right…Got it."

Tsunade stared at him sympathetically, "Hey…Her finding out at the right time could be a good thing…"

Naruto looked up surprised and Tsunade laughed, "It's just a thought. It's your choice all the same. Oh, and watch out for her when you're training. She doesn't have an endless chakra supply like you."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I'll make sure about that!"

Tsunade laughed, "Will you now?"

Naruto blushed, "H-Hey! I didn't mean it like that!"

Tsunade snickered, "Sure, sure."

Naruto pouted, "Whatever Obaa-chan! See ya and thanks!"

Tsunade clenched her jaw at the mention of 'Obaa-chan' but her expression as he left soon softened, "Hmm…I wonder where this'll lead. One thing's for sure…I'm not making any bets."

--------------------------------------------------End Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------


End file.
